The Lindenwood men's basketball team and the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats had an old-fashioned dogfight on Wednesday night in St. Charles. The Bearcats controlled the final 90 seconds of the game and won the key MIAA match-up 69-65.
 
The game started with a Michael Boos three but Northwest Missouri would score the next 19-of-27 points to take a 10-point lead.  That 10-point advantage would be the largest lead for either team the rest of the way.
 
Lindenwood quickly got within three points with just over five minutes in the first half. The Bearcats would push the lead back up to nine with just 15 second to play. Chanse Creekmur followed that up with a three with just over four seconds remaining to cut the Lions deficit to just six at the half.
 
As good as the first half was, the second half was even better. Both teams traded the lead back-and-forth six times. But with just over five minutes to play it looked like the Bearcats were going to take control of the game.
 
Northwest Missouri's Zach Schnieder hit a three-pointer to give the Bearcats a five-point lead. The home team did not go down easily though.
 
Sam Mader got Lindenwood within three with a layup then Cory Arentsen made a three right in front of the Lions bench to tie the score.
 
After a Northwest Missouri timeout, Schnieder would again have an open look for three but this time he missed and gave the Lions a chance to take the lead.
 
Lindenwood took advantage of that with a Mader free throw followed by a Darris Smith jumper, which gave the home team a three-point advantage. Just like the Lions, the Bearcats did not go away.
 
Grant Cozad answered Smith's jumper with one of his own to get the visitors within one. On the ensuing possession, LJ McIntosh had a look at an open three to put the Lions up four but the shot caromed off the rim.
 
After the miss, the Bearcats came right down and connected on a three to take a two-point advantage with 1:14 to play. After a timeout Lindenwood would turn the ball over on the next possession and that was all Northwest needed.
 
Smith and Arentsen led the Lions in scoring with 19 and 18 respectively. Smith also led the team in assists with five. Creekmur chipped in with 10 while Mader led the team in rebounds with seven.
 
The two top three-point shooting teams in all of division two put on a show. The Lions made 46 percent of their threes while the Bearcats made 47 percent. Northwest Missouri outrebounded Lindenwood 28-24 and the teams combined for just 13 turnovers.
The loss drops the Lions to 16-10 overall and 11-6 in MIAA play. Lindenwood will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at Lincoln.